Pictures
by anime16
Summary: He is Toushiro Hitsugaya. She is Momo Hinamori. This is their love story, recall through the colorful and dull pictures of their past. Sometimes love is just around the corner and you just have to open your eyes to see it.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. :) Just this story.**

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**Pictures**

**written by: anime16**

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**Chapter One: The Start of a Love Story.**

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_Momo Hitsugaya, with uneven footsteps, jostled her husband Toushiro on the old attic's direction. She resolved to clean it weeks ago but couldn't bring herself to even step on the dark, dirty, who-knows-what's-in-there place. So during her husband's off from work, she sought his cooperation._

"_S-Shiro-chan...I'm right behind you..." she stammered. "Don't be scared, ok?" She licked her dried lips and clutched on his shirt with all her might._

_**Who's more scared between us?** Toushiro rolled his eyes and guided his wife upstairs, on the cold and dark attic. "Momo...if you don't want to clean the attic, then it is alright with me. You don't have to push yourself. Leave it to our maids. They are there for a reason. I didn't hire them to slack off you know."_

"_Y-Yeah I know. But I told you I want to clean our rooms and of course our children's rooms by myself. And the attic holds so many memories we have since we started going out." Momo loosened her clutch on his shirt and gave him a tight hug from behind instead. "I want to keep what's important to me in privacy, Shiro-chan. And you know our memories were so important to me."_

_Toushiro smiled and placed his hands on Momo's hands on his stomach. "If that's what you want, then I'll just have to help you. Come on." He grabbed her hand and hauled her towards the attic. _

_It was chilly and dark in the attic. Toushiro felt the switch on the right side and turned it on. The lights haloed the dirty attic, full of cobwebs and earthly smell. _

"_Alright, let's do this." Momo pushed her long sleeves upwards and sauntered on the centre of the attic, all in while, knocking off a couple of boxes down. She gasped and stooped down, finding a lot of familiar pictures. _

"_Shiro-chan..." she gasped when she saw a lot of pictures of her. "I have so many pictures here."_

_Toushiro joined her on the ground and smirked while taking some of the pictures on his hands. "These were the pictures I took during our high school days. It's mostly about you. It filled almost two boxes or maybe three?"_

_She grabbed a picture from the ground and frowned. "When did you take this picture?" She handed him a picture of her laughing in the classroom._

"_Oh, I remember this. It's one of the instances I force you to leave you hair out of the bun. I hate that cloth of yours which always hide your beautiful hair..." He trailed off and gulped loudly when she glared at him. "Well...what happened was..."_

**...**

The Hinamori Manor was a large estate surrounded by spacious terraced gardens. The iron gates flew open and a luxurious car drove in. It rounded the circular path made by gravel and stopped in front of the main house itself. It was an elegant, white mansion made by using a stone from a hundred years ago. Its stylish door situated between two eye-catching window panes.

Toushiro Hitsugaya sat at the back of the car, listening to the songs in his iPod. He waited patiently for his childhood friend to emerge from the mansion. And he half-expected her to be panicking and screaming now since he arrived earlier than expected.

As if on cue, he heard a series of shuffling feet and the door of the car was opened in a rush. There was an added weight on the car seat beside him and the door was slammed shut. There was the rustle of clothes and someone took off the headphones from his ears.

"Shiro-chan! Why are you so early?" Momo Hinamori scolded her childhood friend, tucking an out-of-place hair lock behind her ear. Her hair was tied in a messily bun and it must be from her hurrying that she failed to fix her hair properly. "I was literally screaming my head off because my hair isn't tied yet. And Maya-san is missing! So I have no choice but to tie it myself. Look, look! It's so messy –"

"Then don't tie it in a bun..." Toushiro interrupted her ramblings by pulling off the cloth that was tying her hair in place. Her dark brown hair slumped down her shoulders and he smirked, clenching her cloth in his hands. "You look better without it anyways."

His lips twitched upward in amusement as he watched her redden in embarrassment. It was so rare to catch her off guard nowadays and he was totally in bliss that he managed to do it.

"Give me back my cloth!" she shouted, leaning towards him to grab the one he stole. "I look ridiculous without it." She gritted her teeth and lunged into him. She draped a hand on his chest and the other one was reaching for the cloth that he swayed upwards.

"I said you look better without it!" He grunted, managing to place his hand upwards where she couldn't get it. "You should really take your time listening to my advice."

She glared at his hand as she puffed her cheeks. Her ears turned slightly red in mortification. She tried desperately to get her belonging back. "Give it back to me, asshole." When she couldn't reach the said item, she looked down at him and realized the position they were in. Her face was just inches away from his, her lips almost kissing his cheeks. And she could feel his hot breath tickling the side of her face.

She felt her heart skipped a bit, feeling uncomfortable all of the sudden. It was a first from her since she was always at ease whenever he was nearby. She pulled out too early and settled herself at the far end of the car, too far away from him.

"Fine, don't give it to me," She murmured, giving him one last long look before sticking her tongue out and turned around to ignore him. She stared at the scenery outside the tinted windows, trying to hum away her fast heart beat. She didn't know why exactly she was feeling this way towards him. They were inseparable since birth and she knew every nook and cranny about him, and why of all people she was conscious of him now.

She risked a glance at him and saw him keeping an eye on her too. She looked away, propping her elbow on the arm rest of the car and placed her chin on the top of her hands.

Is it because of how handsome he looks right now? She _wondered._ The way he grew up to be such a _fine _man. His spiky, white hair that was so soft to the touch and his piercing emerald eyes that so unique and exquisite. His slightly tanned, lean, muscular body, that was due to soccer. And oh god, she couldn't continue right now. She was definitely fantasizing about her childhood friend.

She shook away all her thoughts but waving her hands in the air in a weird manner.

Toushiro, who was looking at her all the time, raised an eyebrow at her odd behaviour. There was something she was hiding. Normally, she _wouldn't _give up getting back her cloth. But today, she herself withdrew from the fight. But, it was all too good for him. He saw her hair down and he could say she was very pretty. He smirked.

He reached a lock of her hair and on the second time of the day managed to catch her off guard again when he smelled and kissed it. He breathed in her scent and his smirk grew. She smelled of peach. He knew by then that he would never forget her scent.

"What are you doing?" Momo screamed, snatching away her hair. She turned red, heck even her neck was slight red.

"I smelled your hair." Toushiro shrugged. "What's wrong with that?" He folded his arms and smiled smugly. "Why are you so embarrassed? Are you afraid of letting me know, you didn't shampooed your hair?"

"I shampooed my hair! It was the peach-flavoured shampoo I loved." Momo pouted. He smirked yet again. He was right. She smelled like peach, just like her name.

He unfolded her arms and looked ahead. "We're finally here." He tugged her cloth inside his pockets when her attention was caught by the sight of their school. The car drove inside the school and parked. They went out of the car and Toushiro gave instructions to his driver to fetch them later that afternoon. The driver nodded and once he was completely out of the car, he turned the engine on and sped off.

Momo stretched her arms in the air. She had long forgotten everything about her cloth that was still in Toushiro's possession and the uneasy feelings she got a while ago from her closeness to her childhood friend.

**...**

"Good morning everyone!" Momo greeted her friends as she hustled Toushiro forward. The poor guy grunted as he sat down his seat beside the window. She grinned and sat beside him.

"Guys, the lovey-dovey couple had arrived!" Rangiku announced and added, "And Momo had a messed up hair! What did they do inside the hot seat of their honeymoon car? They made out, maybe?"

Momo flushed, remembering the scene a while ago.

"Momo is blushing!" Rangiku gasped. She clicked her tongue and smiled towards Toushiro. "Isn't it great Hitsugaya? It means you have a chance!"

Toushiro fight off a blush and hollered, "Matsumoto! For the first and last time, I don't like Hinamori that way!" He huffed. "So don't bring that up anymore."

_Ouch_, Momo suddenly felt hurt. She shouldn't be. Toushiro was just her best friend, her childhood friend. Nothing more, nothing less. She hummed away all the negative feelings and managed to smile in the process. "Y-Yes, that's right Rangiku-san."

There was an awkward silence afterwards. Thankfully, it was broken when Ichigo and Renji barged in.

"Hello guys!" Ichigo and Renji greeted simultaneously.

Ichigo glared at Renji and took hold of his collar. "Don't copy me."

Renji did the same too. "I am the one who should say that."

Ichigo and Renji were childhood rivals. They were at each other's throats ever since the beginning. They never allowed the other side to win. They were one messed up pair of rivals but they do care about each other in a brotherly way.

Renji liked Rukia, a _lot._ But he didn't have the courage to tell her that since he believed that she was in love with Ichigo, which was quite true since she stick close to him for the past few months until Ichigo confessed to Orihime and they became an item. Maybe that's the reason why Renji and Ichigo were always bickering at each other.

For the first days of Ichigo and Orihime's exclusive dating, the gang watched as their fondness for each other grew and became love. And maybe that's the time, Rukia gave up. Instead, she slowly turned her feelings to Renji. But that latter didn't see the signs, poor him.

Momo watched as her two friends glared at each other, neither was willing to back off. After a few minutes, Karin Kurosaki, Ichigo's little sister, managed to break their staring contest by walking in front of them. She approached Toushiro and said, "Prince...Can you teach me that amazing move you did in your last game in soccer?"

Yes, she called him Prince. Her reasoning: Toushiro was so talented and shining, like a prince. And Toushiro never corrected her, maybe he liked to be called that way. Or maybe he liked Karin. Momo's heart felt like being squeeze. She clutched her chest and frowned. For quite some time, she started to ignore it.

She looked at Karin by the time she leaned down and kissed Toushiro's cheeks. "Thanks a lot, Prince. I'm looking forward for the one-on-one practice."

Toushiro rubbed his cheeks annoyingly. "Don't kiss me as you please, Kurosaki." He glared at her. "It's a bit disturbing and doesn't _feel _right."

Karin shrugged. "Whatever. It's just my way of saying thank you." She walked passed Momo and patted her head. "See you around Princess. Watch Prince for me, kay?"

Ichigo blocked her sister's way. "Kissing as a way of thanks! Are you an idiot? As your brother –"

He was interrupted when she tiptoed and kissed his cheeks. "See you later, Ichi-nii. You kiss Hime for me."

Ichigo turned red and stammered, "K-Kiss Orihime." He mumbled incoherent curses and frowned. "Don't play with me, Karin."

She raised her pinkie finger and had put it inside her ear. "I don't want to hear anything anymore." She exited the room and slid the door close.

Orihime approached Ichigo and took his hand. "Don't worry about it Ichigo. It's completely alright with me."

"Karin or the..." Ichigo gulped and added, "...kiss."

"Eh?" Orihime flushed and looked around, trying to get her answer straight. She closed her eyes and shouted, "Both." They stared for each other for a while and like a magnet, they leaned to each other. Their lips were inches apart when the gang whistled.

Both of them jumped apart in embarrassment.

"How nice..." Rangiku smirked. "Don't mind us, go make out."

"We will not!" Ichigo barked.

All of them laughed at the silly couple.

Toushiro, on the other hand, watched Momo laughed. He smiled secretly and fished out his mini camera from his bag. He focused it on Momo and snapped a picture of her. He closed his eyes and added mentally, _only you can make a simple picture look wonderful, Momo..._

**...**

**Author's Notes: **So how's the first chapter? I know I'm not that good in writing so you can give your thoughts about my work. Just give constructive criticisms, ok? Thanks for reading and see you on the next chapter.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. :) Just this story.**

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**Pictures**

**written by: anime16**

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**Chapter Two: That Secret Place.**

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_Toushiro and Momo brought the pictures they've found downstairs, away from the attic, far from that secluded place. Pictures were there to relieve memories not to hide them. Toushiro dropped the box on the living room and stretched up his lean body. "That was heavy." He thought for a minute and said, "Hey. I should have let the house boy take it down."_

_Momo giggled as she picked some random picture that fell down on the floor. It was a picture of her, sitting on the grass, her back on the camera. She remembered the place. It was the secret hideout they've found when they were still in high school. She even remembered what happened there during the time her husband took the picture. The memories were vague but it really left a strong impression on her._

"_Ah...that picture..." Toushiro trailed off._

"_Yes...you've taken my picture during that time?" Momo hollered incredulously. _

"_The...both of us were so sad..." Toushiro said. He pulled Momo towards him and hugged her with all his might. "I couldn't forget what happened..."_

**...**

A young maid, in her mid-twenties, entered the first room located at the second floor of the North Wing in Hitsugaya Mansion. She was just recently hired and was new at certain things. And today, she was appointed to wake up the young master, the next heir of the Hitsugaya multi-million corporation.

She was nervous upon stepping foot at the spacious room. She didn't want to commit any mistake and got fired for only a week. She calmed herself by humming random tunes while squeezing her maid uniform.

She sauntered over the room towards the king size bed at the center. She took a quick glance at his room once in a while, awed by the fact that a house could fit in the room. It had a mini kitchen and a bar on the right side and on the other side was a large bathroom. There was an entertainment area past the bed complete with a big LCD television, DVD player, tons of discs and a couch.

She gulped loudly. She had never seen a room just like the young master. He got everything from money, good looks and up to a loving family. Yeah, his parents were always busy. But they actually went home every day just to have dinner with their only son. And they always left their weekends free of responsibilities, except of course if there's something crucial going on in the corporation.

Say for example, today was Saturday. And Mrs. Hitsugaya ordered her to wake up the young master because he seemingly had someone to go out with for the rest of the day. Tense, her body was slightly stiff. She rigidly turned her head on the bedside table and saw a picture frame standing in it.

A picture of the young master with a girl with jet black hair and brown orbs was in that picture frame. There were a couple of picture frames that was surrounding it. But that one really stood out among the rest. Maybe because it was able to portray so much emotion, it was like the two of them _really _cared for each other.

She shook her head. She should concentrate on waking up the young master.

She went on the figure buried among the heaps of cover on the bed. She slowly shook him up. "Young master, it's time to wake up. You have some appointment today."

He grumbled and squirmed. The covers revealed the handsome young master with tousled white hair and well-cut chin. He was not wearing any t-shirt and she bet he was just wearing boxers. She turned red, as in really red. She coughed and shook him again.

He didn't budge.

"Maybe now's the time to...use that technique the mistress taught me." She puckered her lips and thought about the young master's mother. She really knew a lot of things about his son. For an instance, she told her a way to wake him up.

She neared his face to him and timidly murmured to his ears. "Young master, Hinamori-san is here. She is watching you sleep right now."

Like on the cue or something, he opened his eyes and quickly sat up straight. He looked around and found no one but the maid. "Where's Hinamori?"

"Ah young master, actually she's not here," the maid told him nervously. "Your mother asked me to tell you that if you refuse to wake up."

He ruffled his hair and muttered incoherent words under his breath. "Ah damn. She _got _me." He glanced at the maid and told her to go out. The maid nodded and hastily exited the room in fear that he would get angry.

He took his phone from the bed side table and flipped it open. He had four messages, one from Karin, the other from Rangiku, there's one from Ichigo and one from Renji. He decided to open Renji's message first.

**4 New Messages ****6:30 am, 09/30/?**

**From: Renji Abarai**

_Dude, help me. Should I ask Rukia for a date or something? She doesn't like that orange head anymore, right?_

His eye brows twitched in annoyance. He was not an _expert_ in love or something. So why bother asking him something about going out.

**9:50 am, 09/30/?**

**To: Renji Abarai**

_Don't ask me that. Moron._

He hit the send button and proceeded to the next one.

**3 new messages 7:30 am, 09/30/?**

**From: Ichigo Kurosaki**

_Oi Toushiro. Don't try anything to my sister._

Oh yeah, he promised Karin that he would teach her some soccer moves today. He looked at Ichigo's text again and sighed. He would never dare to try anything on Karin. Besides, he would rather be with Momo than her anyways.

He turned red all of the sudden and shook his head. _It's not because I like her, damn it. She's just my best friend, _he assured himself. Speaking of Momo, last night she hadn't called or texted at all. Normally, she did and sometimes because of stupidest reasons like her parents forgot to buy her favourite ice cream or she read something and cried or she just felt like complaining to him.

He waited all night for her calls and texts and none of it came. And because of that, he overslept today. He groaned and texted Ichigo.

**9:55 am, 09/30/?**

**To: Ichigo Kurosaki**

_I would never in my life do anything to your sister. And it's Hitsugaya to you Kurosaki. Remember that._

He heaved a long sigh before opening his next message.

**2 new messages 7:35 am, 09/30/?**

**From: Rangiku Matsumoto**

_Way to go Hitsugaya! Hitting two girls simultaneously, I didn't know you have it in you. Karin's not bad at all._

Toushiro glared at his phone, more specifically at Rangiku's text. _Wait 'til I get my hands on you Matsumoto. I'd tell everybody you have a crush on Ichimaru-sensei._ He smirked and typed a text for Rangiku.

**9:57 am, 09/30/?**

**To: Rangiku Matsumoto**

_I am not hitting on Kurosaki and Hinamori at all, Matsumoto. Get off my back._

He massaged his aching temples and proceeded on the last text from Karin.

**1 new message 9:00 am, 09/30/?**

**From: Karin Kurosaki**

_Good Morning Prince! We're going to meet at Dana's Restaurant. Be there at 10:30 sharp. We're going to grab an early lunch before we proceed to a sports complex. There's a heavy rain last night so the park grounds were damp and muddy. That's why I decided to go to an indoor place. See you later Prince._

Toushiro looked quickly at his alarm clock on the bedside table. "Oh shit, I'm going to be late," he cursed and swiftly stood up. He tossed his cell phone on the bed and grabbed some towels on his closet. He was about to enter the bathroom when his phone rang.

He snatched it from his bed and looked at the caller I.D.

He scoffed and took the call. "Hello Matsumoto. I don't have time for – what?"

"_Momo's missing. Last night she ran away from home and thankfully someone found her. She was soaking wet because of the rain and caught a fever. And now she's missing again. Do you have any idea where she is? Or maybe is she with you? Her parents called me and they were very worried."_

"No. She's not here. She hadn't called or texted since last night. What happened to her anyways? Why is she running away?" There was something about his tone that seemed foreign to Rangiku's ears. It was the first time she heard that tone from him. _Disappointment, pain, confusion_, the sound of his voice conveyed a thousand of meanings. There's no doubt that Toushiro really cared for his best friend.

"_I don't know either. If she would tell someone, she would definitely tell you."_

"I'll find her...I'll call you or her house if I did find her." Toushiro ended the call after saying goodbye to Rangiku. He threw away the towels he grabbed from the closet and changed into something outdoorsy. He had to find Momo as soon as possible.

He opened his cell phone again to send a quick text to Karin.

**10:17 am, 09/30/?**

**To: Karin Kurosaki**

_Sorry. Can't make it._

He exited his room in a flash and shouted at the nearest maid he could find. "Hey, prepare a car for me." The maid nodded eagerly and took the flight of steps hastily. He ran towards the kitchen and saw his mother baking a chocolate cake.

"Mom, I'm going," he said. He kissed her cheeks while she was busy.

"You're going to meet Kurosaki-chan, are you?" his mother asked playfully. "I thought you love Momo-chan!"

"No I'm not meeting Kurosaki. I have to find Hinamori. And for the first and last time, I'm not in love with Hinamori, mom!" he wailed.

His mother smiled lovingly at him. "Oh my, what happened to my dear daughter-in-law?" She placed her baking utensils down and looked at her son.

"I'm going to explain it to you later. For now, I need to find her." He rushed towards the main door and walked out of the mansion. He jumped the last steps of the pavement and rode the prepared car.

He felt his cell phone vibrated from his pockets and took it out. It was a message from Karin.

**1 new message 10:25 am, 09/30/?**

**From: Karin Kurosaki**

_You're so mean Prince...bailing out in the last minute. You gotta buy me a week's lunch for this._

He rolled his eyes. He looked at the driver and told him, "Take me to school." The driver nodded and sped off the Hitsugaya Mansion.

Toushiro pushed some buttons on his phone and went to his contacts log. He searched for his childhood friend's contact details. He smirked when he found it. _Bed wetter Momo_ was written above Momo's number. He decided to call her.

But she won't answer rather he couldn't even get through.

**...**

After a few minutes, Toushiro arrived at the school. He went out of the car and instructed the driver to wait for him. He climbed over the fence of the school and jogged towards its mini forest just behind the school building. He probed deeper to the forest, delved the unknown places. And finally found his and Momo's secret hideout. It was a picturesque, quiet place with a few unique flowers sprouting from time to time.

There were many trees and wild grasses. And the most breathtaking of all was the crystal clear lake. He breathed in a sigh of relief when he found her, sitting on the grassy ground, looking at the lake. Her back was so painfully lonely and sad. He grabbed his cell phone from his pockets and took a picture of her before he cautiously approached her.

"If you're going to be like this, it's better to have some company, right?" He whispered. She stiffened a little and dramatically turned around.

"S-Shiro-chan..." she sniffed loudly, "Why are you here?"

"Matsumoto called me. Your parents asked her about your whereabouts. They were very worried about you." He took a seat beside her. He raked his white hair and looked at her eyes seriously. "Why are you running away? Why aren't you telling me anything? Aren't I your friend?"

Momo wiped away her tears and muttered, "B-Because I know you'd find me. Even if I don't say anything, you'd understand me. Your mere presence calm me Shiro-chan. You just have to be there. You don't have to know what my problems are."

Toushiro draped a hand across her shoulders and brought her close to him. "But I still want to know Hinamori. What's bothering you?"

Momo was silent for a while.

Toushiro didn't mind it though.

And after debating whether she'd tell it or not, she turned around to look at her childhood friend. She breathed in a few gulps of air and said, "My parents arranged an engagement for me. You know the guy Shiro-chan. It's Kira Izuru during our elementary days. He's going to study to our school starting next week."

Toushiro unconsciously brought Momo closer to him. He felt the heat emanating from her body. He forgot that Rangiku told him she had fever. He turned Momo towards him and touched her forehead. "You got fever, idiot. Let me take you home."

Momo pouted and pushed him aside. "I'm not going home until...until they cut off my engagement to Kira-kun!" She stood up and swayed a little because of dizziness. She leaned on a nearby tree for support. Her surroundings were spinning and before she knew it, she was falling forward.

"Don't push yourself, idiot." Toushiro caught her just in time before she fell on the ground. He took her in his arms and whispered, "Momo, you don't have to worry. Everything would work out just fine."

**...**

**Author's Notes: **I've finally updated. Let me know your thoughts and comments through great reviews. I'll be waiting and thanks for reading my story.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. :) Just this story.**

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**Pictures**

**written by: anime16**

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**Chapter Three: The Rival Appears.**

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"_**Shiro-otousan**__ and __**Bed wetter ocaa-san**__!" Ichirou Hitsugaya, aged five, skipped a few steps towards his parents. He wrapped them in his feeble arms and cuddled closer to them._

_Momo giggled and smelled the baby scent coming from her son before processing what __**he**__ called her. She gasped and scowled at his husband. He was looking at her and was holding back a big laugh. She raised a hand, gently placing it to his ear and pinched it mercilessly._

"_Aw...Stop it Momo! That really hurts!" Toushiro inched back from Momo and his son, giving her an innocent look. "What did I do?"_

"_You taught our son to call me bed wetter, aren't you?"_

"_Why would I do that?" Toushiro smirked. "I'm not like you who teach our children to call me __**weird**__ names." He folded his arms around his chest and gave her a smug look._

"_Why you..." Momo had put her child on the side and without any warning tackled Toushiro on the floor. "This is payback time." _

_They wrestled each other on the marble floor and accidentally pushed down a couple of boxes that they brought down from the attic._

_Momo randomly picked a picture from the box._

"_Hey...it was me chatting with our friends in the cafeteria..." Momo grinned, as she recalled distant memories when she was young. "When did you get this?"_

"_The day when we were reunited with our **friend** Kira Izuru..." Toushiro replied._

"_Ah...that day..."_

**...**

"Hinamori-san, this is Kira Izuru-kun. Your parents told me that you're related to each other."

Soifon-sensei draped a hand on Kira's back and pushed him towards Momo. He stumbled awkwardly beside her and offered her a brief smile in which she returned half-heartedly. "I hope you guide him around school during your vacant hours. Make sure he could properly adjust to our system. He just came back from America after all." She gathered her teaching materials from her table and zoomed towards the exit, gesturing her students to follow her.

Once they were outside, Soifon-sensei looked at her wrist watch and said, "I guess it's time for homeroom. I would have to introduce Izuru-kun to everyone." She hastened her steps to the point that Momo had to take big strides to keep up.

"Are you alright?" Kira asked. "We can slow our pace, you know."

Momo shook her head in disagreement. "It's alright. I _can_ keep up. Thanks for your concern." She huffed and decided it's probably wise to _jog_ beside her homeroom teacher. She bit her lower lip and heaved a defeated sigh. She casted a sideway glance to Kira and took a moment to describe him in her mind.

He was tall, taller than her and definitely taller than her childhood best friend. He was lean but slightly muscular. He had blonde hair and she didn't bother to look at the color of his eyes. Again, she sighed and looked away. In her eyes, Toushiro is definitely better, more beautiful and cooler.

"It's been years since we've last seen each other," Kira told her. "I suppose you know that we're engaged."

"Yeah..." she trailed off. "But I haven't agreed on that arrangement yet." She looked at him and said, "We barely know each other. I know practically _nothing _about you."

"I know." Kira paused for a while before continuing, "That's why I am here right now. So we could get along and know each other."

They stopped in front of the classroom and Soifon-sensei asked Momo to get inside first. The latter nodded eagerly and entered the classroom without any argument. Soifon-sensei told Kira to wait for a while then she walked briskly inside. He heard countless greetings and her homeroom teacher's voice filled up the room.

He waited until he was being called inside. He took a deep breath before opening the door and stepped in. He looked at his classmates from the corner of his eyes. A few girls were giving him admiration looks but he wasn't interested, not a bit. He looked for Momo and found her sitting beside a white haired lad.

His lips twitched into a nervous smile_. _He could sense some anger and resentment from Toushiro. He raked his hair and heaved a sigh.

"His name is Kira Izuru." Soifon-sensei wrote his name in the blackboard. She faced her students and said, "I expect you to get to know him better. He's new and he's from America." She tossed the chalk aside and looked at Kira, "Izuru-kun. You can sit at the vacant seat beside Hinamori-san."

Kira nodded and skipped towards the empty seat beside his fiancée. He gave her a grin before sitting.

"Let's start our English class." Soifon-sensei opened her book and told her students, "Open your book to page 125."

On the other hand, Momo bit her lower lip. She was twisting some papers in her lap. Toushiro glanced at her and saw what she was doing. Suddenly, he stood up, surprising everyone in the class.

"Is there something wrong, Hitsugaya-kun?" Soifon-sensei asked, raising an eyebrow in his direction. "Why did you stand up all of the sudden?"

"I forgot _my_ English book." He gave Soifon-sensei a cold smile. "I need to move my seat closer to Hinamori and share her book. Is that alright?"

"I guess..." Soifon-sensei hadn't finished what she was going to say because Toushiro had already slid his seat beside Momo. He sat comfortably and urged his teacher to get on the discussion.

Then the class started _again_.

Momo gave her childhood friend a questioning look. She leaned towards him and whispered, "You have your English book, aren't you? I saw it before class started."

Toushiro smirked at her and raised a finger between her lips. "Shhh...Be quiet." He stared at the bundles of papers in her laps. "You're nervous and worried, aren't you?"

"How did you know?" Momo bowed her head. "Kira-kun was serious about the engagement. I don't really know what to do now."

"You have a habit of twisting some papers in your lap and biting your lower lip when you're nervous or worried." Toushiro messed up his white hair and said, "I know because I'm always watching you."

Momo felt her heart squeeze with delight. She frowned and clamped a hand on her chest. "Eh?" She didn't know this feeling. It was not bad but it was so frustrating. It was probably the first time he felt this way towards her childhood friend.

"Is there something wrong Hinamori?" Toushiro asked worriedly. "Does your chest hurt?"

"N-No..." She offered him a reassuring smile.

"Don't scare me like that."

"I'm so sorry..." Momo placed her hands on her lap and began twisting some papers again.

Toushiro heaved a defeated sigh. He draped his hand over her hand and gently squeezed it. He said, "If you're nervous or worried, you can just take a hold of _my_ hand. It's a lot better than the papers, isn't it? I'm always with you, no matter what. I will not leave you."

Momo grinned at him and returned the squeeze. "Thanks a lot Shiro-chan."

They held hands until the end of the English class.

**...**

"...and this place is where we'll eat."

Momo hustled Toushiro and Kira over the cafeteria. "Oh come on! Let's continue the school tour some other day, Kira-kun. I'm starving."

They entered the cafeteria and the rich aroma of food reached them. Then Momo heard someone called her. She turned around and saw her friends waving at her. She waved back and made a sign for them to wait just a little bit longer for them.

"Shiro-chan, I've found them." Momo curled her fingers over the edge of Toushiro's shirt and pointed at the table where their friends are. He followed the direction she was pointing and saw their friends at their usual table in the cafeteria.

"Let's go and grab something to eat." He held her hand and half-dragged her to the counter with Kira tailing behind them. He reached for a tray set on the table beside the counter. Kira did the same. Both of them turned to look at Momo at the same time.

"What do you want to eat?" they asked her in chorus. It took a moment before Toushiro was able to scowl at Kira and said, "I'm _the_ one who will get her food no matter what. I have been doing that for _years._"

Kira offered him a pretentious smile in which he returned with an equally shallow smile. Kira then draped a hand on Momo's arm and hauled her towards him. Toushiro who was still holding her hand, tugged her to his direction. "Let go...Izuru." His every word was like ice, so cold and menacing.

Momo blinked her eyes and stared at them. She had never seen Toushiro looking so angry and upset. And she had never seen Kira lost her cool before. He was always calm like an ocean during peaceful times. And now, there they were glaring at each other.

"Guys..." She yanked her arm from Kira and her hand from Toushiro. "I will just get my own food, ok? You don't have to fight over that petty thing." She reached for a tray and went to the counter with a smile. "One, Set A please."

She was oblivious to the fact that Toushiro and Kira were still giving each other murderous glances. She looked at them and told them, "Hurry up guys. Our friends were waiting for us."

The two lads broke off their intense staring contest and proceeded in getting their food. After a few minutes, they were already at the table, chatting merrily with the entire gang.

"Hello, Izuru-kun. My name is Orihime Inoue." She held Ichigo's arm and giggled. "And this guy over here is _my_ boyfriend. His name is Ichigo Kurosaki." The latter blushed profusely and just gave Kira an awkward, "Nice to meet you."

"My name is Renji Abarai..." The red-haired lad trailed off and pointed at Rukia. "And I'm pursuing her."

Rukia's cheeks were tinted with red in no time and she smacked Renji's head. "Don't say unnecessary things." She looked over at Kira and uttered, "My name is Rukia Kuchiki."

"And I'm Rangiku Matsumoto." The orange head beauty gave Kira a warm smile. "I'm the source of information around here. If you want to know _someone's _weakness or secret, just feel free to ask me." She smirked at Toushiro's direction. The latter gave him an icy glare.

"It's nice to meet you everyone." Kira gave them a smile. "I'm Kira Izuru." He looked at Toushiro and said, "And I'm Momo Hinamori's _fiancée_."

"Eh?" Everyone hollered harmoniously. "Are you serious? But Hinamori is Hitsugaya's..."

They stopped when they felt a dangerous aura lurking beside them.

"Shut it Izuru..." Toushiro scoffed. "Hinamori said she's not interested in you a bit and she's not accepting you. So scram if you value your life."

_He's threatening him already. And on his first day too..._Everyone thought with a nervous smile.

"Shiro-chan, that's so mean. True, I already told him that I'm not accepting the arrangement but the way you put it is just so cruel." She held Toushiro and Kira's hand. She forced them to shake hands and smiled at each one of them. "Let's all get along, shall we?"

Toushiro pulled away his hand like he's having a beehive. "I'm not going to let you take her..." He hissed and grimaced at Kira. The latter guy smirked.

"I will take her with all I've got."

The glared at each other for a while then glanced away.

On the other hand, Momo was already talking with their friends, looking so content that she supposedly made Toushiro and Kira got along.

Toushiro sighed and get a camera from his pocket. He secretly focused it on Momo and snapped a picture of her. He smirked and hid the camera before anyone noticed it.

**...**

**Author's Notes:** I've updated again. Thanks for reading my story. Please leave a review and let me know your thoughts.


	4. Chapter 4

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**Pictures**

**written by: anime16**

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**...**

**...**

**Chapter Four: Field Trip at the Beach.**

**...**

_Toushiro stood at the porch of his manor, silently looking after his son who was busy chasing after butterflies in their luxurious London-style garden. There were various types of flowers, plants and trees around, moreover, the magnificent green-terraces and bushes that clearly made the gardens more appetizing to the eyes._

_Actually, he was really not into fancy gardens with roses and frilly stuffs but his wife wanted them for their __**'future' **__children as she liked to quote, so he made them for her when they got married. He would do anything for his wife after all._

_He smirked when he sense his wife's presence behind him. She was tiptoeing towards him, clearly masking her footsteps to surprise him, but of course, she was failing to accomplish her goal. When she was at least a half-meter away from him, she snaked her arms around him._

_He took her hands and held it in his chest. He closed his eyes, savouring their moment together. He knew that as long as she was in his side, he would be happy._

"_I've brought watermelons slices from the fridge. Do you want to eat one?" She asked._

"_Yes."_

_She removed her arms from his upper body but he didn't let go of the hand he was clutching a little while ago. Together, they went towards the table at the porch and he sat down first, pulling her towards his lap after a few mere seconds._

_She turned fiery red and glanced at his son who was still playing with the butterflies at the garden. "Shiro chan, what would you do if Ichi-chan see us?" _

"_It's alright," he told her. "At least, he would know that we love each other very much." He smelled her familiar scent of peaches with small traces of watermelons mixed together. He smirked again._

"_I knew it! You already tucked in some slices of watermelons, did you?"_

"_Well, just two slices –"_

_She was stopped at mid-sentence when he turned her head towards him and gave her a long, passionate kiss on her lips. "Yeah, it tasted like watermelons..."_

"_S-Shiro-chan! D-Don't do that!" she scolded him with a very soft voice. What would you expect? He had just given her with a knee-weakening kiss so she was a little out of it._

"_Don't worry...Ichirou was still busy with the butterflies." He stared at his son fondly while thinking, 'Thank God, there were butterflies in the garden.'_

"_Oh yeah, Shiro-chan! I found something interesting in those boxes again..." _

"_What is it?"_

_She leaned down on the table and grabbed the photo on top of it. She showed it to him and asked, "Remember this?"_

"_Of course...I took that picture...It was when I fetch you for our class field trip..."_

_**...**_

"Our class this year would be going to the beach." Soifon-sensei waited for the cheers and yells to die down before continuing, "I'm going to distribute the fliers and the permits your parents have to sign for you to join in the field trip."

She grabbed the stacks of paper on the table and distributed it to the whole class. Afterwards, she took the excess flier and began explaining it her students.

"Aside from me, there are two teachers who would be accompanying us to watch over you. Moreover, we have Class 1-2 to join us in the beach. I expect that all of you would behave, would _behave_." She gave them a look before letting out a pretence smile. She had put the paper on the table again and allowed her students to talk to each other.

"Just now she said the word _behave_ twice in a sentence," Ichigo commented. He looked at the flier his teacher gave them and began to daydream. In her mind, he saw Orihime in a swimsuit and she was hugging his arm. They were having fun, exchanging a few hugs and kisses, and many, many more. He was really looking forward for the field trip.

He was too immersed in his thoughts that he didn't notice a drop of blood was flowing out of his nose. Orihime notice this and immediately gave him a handkerchief, "I-I-I-chigo-kun, you have a nosebleed."

Ichigo snapped away from his thoughts and glanced at Orihime. "What is it Hime?" Apparently, he didn't hear her when she told him he just got a freaking nosebleed. Fortunately for him, Orihime couldn't read minds or she would really classify him as a pervert.

On the other hand, Renji was pretending to be busy looking at the flier but his mind was off to wonderland. He was thinking of a thousand ways how to make this field trip a chance to confess to Rukia. He was long overdue anyway and Ichigo was already out of the picture because he was finally dating Orihime. His eyes were showing utter delight as he looked at Rukia at the corner of his eyes.

Rukia was chatting with Rangiku about their plans for the field trip. She was too oblivious of Renji's determination and constant stares of affection.

On the other side of the room, Kira and Toushiro were giving each other murderous looks. Momo was unaware of the transpiring feud between her childhood best friend and supposedly fiancée. She was too busy planning for the activities she would do together with Toushiro.

After scribbling a few notes on her paper, she turned to Toushiro and asked, "So Shiro-chan, what else do you want to do?"

Toushiro was momentarily distracted by Momo's voice so he snapped out of his ongoing glaring competition with Kira and looked at the source of all of this mess. "What is it Hinamori?"

Momo pouted. "You're not listening!"

"I'm sorry Hinamori. I was just busy _warning_ someone to _back off_ that I didn't hear what you said. What is it again?"

"I said that I'm taking down the activities we're going to do together at the beach. I wrote down swimming, fishing, exploring, snorkelling, and playing volleyball. What else do you want to do, Shiro-chan?"

"Oh, you're writing down the things we're doing _together_ again this year. Well, we're _always _together anyways so someone shouldn't destroy what we have."

Momo frowned a little. "What's eating you Shiro-chan? You've been strange since yesterday." She reached out to touch his fingers and mentally asked him, 'You know that I'll always be here for you.'

Toushiro's lips curved into an awkward smile and he clutched her hands. He manoeuvred his chair and faced her, placing her hands to the crooked of his knee. He looked down and his bangs covered his eyes. She couldn't read his expression for a moment and she wondered what he was thinking that time.

"Momo..."

Her heart skipped a beat when she heard her first name coming from the voice of his childhood best friend. She raised her hand and placed it on top of her chest, feeling her erratic heart beats. Why is she feeling this way? It was not the first time that someone called her by her first name. So why is it different coming from Toushiro?

"S-Shiro-chan?"

He hoisted up his head and his emerald eyes bore to her, as if telling her that his eyes were only set for her. She felt conscious all of the sudden. Why is Toushiro looking at her like that?

"Momo," he repeated.

All of the sudden, his serious face broke into a playful one. He was smirking at her. "I just tried your first name. Just like I thought, it would feel weird. I'll just stick to Hinamori." He had let go of her hand and said, "As long as we something together, I don't mind what it is. So just write anything down at that paper of yours."

He fixed his chair and faced upfront again.

She was left hanging. She felt confused and sad, mixed together in a very unexplainable feeling. She stared at her hands that were held by him a while ago. She could still feel the warmth of his hands on hers.

Meanwhile, Kira was looking at them with great interest. He propped up his head on his palm and rested his elbow on top of his table. He hid a smirk and thought, 'How nice it is to break that strong bond of theirs and have the girl for myself.'

**...**

The most-awaited day for the field trip had finally arrived. The weather is nice and the sun was blazing ever so hotly in the skies. It was a perfect day for swimming at the beach.

Momo was still in her room, packing her clothes and basic utilities inside her bag. She was humming random tunes when she heard a knock in her door. "Come in," she said.

Maya-san, her personal assistant, peered inside and gave her a lopsided smile. Maya-san was with her ever since she was in elementary and she loved her dearly. She was almost a family to her because she watched her growth over the years. She was always there for her, listening to her problems and tending to her personal needs.

"Hitsugaya-sama is here. He is waiting for you in the car," she announced.

"Tell him to give me a minute, Maya-san. I'm not yet through packing my clothes," she replied. Her personal assistant nodded and closed her door. She heard her rushing footsteps in the hallways and giggled a little.

After a few seconds, she was finally done packing. She grinned as she carried her bag with her right hand and exited her room. She skipped a few steps down the stairways of the Hinamori manor and said her goodbyes to Maya-san and the other staff.

She opened the door of the car in front of the mansion and slid next to her childhood best friend. "Good morning Shiro-chan!"

The latter just grunted at her. She raised an eyebrow and pulled off the unsuspecting headset that was stuck to her best friend's ears. "Shiro-chan! I'm finally here. And grunting is not a form of greeting."

He finally looked at her and said, "Yeah...I know..." His very own retort was cut off when he saw her look for the day. For the first time, in her own accord, she was not wearing her hair into a bun. Instead, she let it flow freely in her shoulders.

"So...what do you think Shiro-chan?" she asked him excitedly and continued, "I didn't wear my hair in a bun today because you always steal my cloth. I'm getting tired of it so...I get rid of it for the meantime." She leaned towards him and gave him a bright smile.

She was close...too close for Toushiro's comfort. There were visible shades of red that tint his cheeks. He had to look away from her expectant smile to hide them. "Uh..." he started awkwardly, "...Your hair is fine..." He coughed suspiciously and consoled himself with the flash of scenes happening outside his car window.

Momo pouted and did the same. She folded her arms against her chest and stared absent-mindedly on the views offered by the window of the car.

Toushiro took a sideway glance at her and smirked. He took his handy-dandy camera from his pocket and took a picture of his childhood friend. _"Beautiful..."_

**...**

**Author's Notes: **Here's another chapter of Pictures. Thanks for reading and please leave some reviews and let me know your thoughts/comments/suggestions.


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